


A Familiar Stranger

by SymphonyWizard



Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10128257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SymphonyWizard/pseuds/SymphonyWizard
Summary: A man has come to read to Martha Kent.  She thinks she recognizes him, but doesn't know why.  Set post-series.





	

It was another morning, another day.  Old seventies music was playing on a radio, but it did little to mask the ceaseless drone that was the city of Metropolis.  It didn't matter, Martha Kent enjoyed the sound.  Her little bits of memory was always able to put a smile on her face.  One thing did keep nagging her though.  She was supposed to be having dinner with Jonathan soon.

Oh, Jonathan.  When she closed her eyes, she could see the warm smile on his face.  She longed for the warmth of his strong arms that growing up as a farmer granted.  She wanted to ruffle his silly blonde hair that he really only combed once a day, if not a week.  Her father never approved of her relationship with the stubborn Smallville farmer, but who said the heart needed permission when it found its other half?  Jonathan was coming to take her out to dinner, but she couldn't find her best shoes nor dress.  She knew Jonathan wouldn't care, but she wanted to look her best.  

Even now, as she stared out the window, she could picture him leaning against their barn with his arms crossed wearing that sweat-soaked fannel.  He would be able to rid her of this wretched chill.  She had a red and blue afghan wrapped around her shoulders and was wearing a red robe.  The armchair she sat in was her favorite object in the small bedroom that had her bed, dresser, and a shelf that offered a few glimpses of a past that she had trouble piecing together.  There was a photo of a younger ginger-haired version of herself with Jonathan and a young black-haired man that she did not recognize.

"Mrs. Kent?" 

Martha turned away from the window and found a tall lady with a white medical coat.

"Yes?" she answered warmly.  "Is Jonathan here?  He's supposed to be taking me out to dinner for our anniversary."

The medical lady chuckled softly.  "He's not here yet, ma'am, but when he gets here, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Doctor...?"

"Tammen," finished Dr. Tammen.  "Now, without further ado, you have a visiter."  She steps aside and in comes a man.  Very tall, muscular, thick wavy black hair, and a black suit with a red tie, glasses...Martha wasn't sure why, but something in the back of her mind told her that this man didn't need to wear glasses.  She dismissed the idea as nonsense.

"Nice to meet you, Mr..." she began, offering her hand.

The tall man grasped her hand and smiled warmly.  For some reason he looked as if he knew her.  And she thought she knew him, but she didn't know why.  "Just call me Kal," he said simply.  He cleared his throat.  "Um, I was hoping to read to you today."  

Martha gaped at him.  "Read to me?" she repeated.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Kent, he's very entertaining," Dr. Tammen assured.  

"Um, okay," said Martha.  "Kal, why don't you take a seat on the bed."

Kal accepts her offer and sits down on the bed.  He pulls out a large book from his messenger bag. 

"' _Superman: The Untold History of the Man of Steel_ ,'" read Martha.  She looked a little lower.  By Chloe Sullivan.  Why did she recognize that name?  When she thought about it, all she could manage was that there was an incandescent smile that was attached to that name.  The front cover sported a red wedge-shaped symbol with a red "S" surrounded by blue.  She thought she had seen that before, maybe a brief glimpse from out the window.  "What's it about?" she asked.

"It tells the story a little boy who, after many trials and heartache in his life, grew up to be a hero," replied Kal.  There was a slight tinge of sadness in his voice.  It left Martha with a strange urge to squeeze his hand and comfort him.  Why would she do that?  She didn't know this man.

"So, would you like me to start reading?" he asked.  

"Yes, I could use a good story."

Kal cleared his throat again and opened the book to the first page.  He took a deep breath and began to read.

' _Prologue:  The Boy Who Came from the Sky..._ "

Martha listened intently as Kal told a story about a childless Kansas couple who, after surviving a vicious meteor shower that left many dead, wounded, or damaged, found a little boy.  Or maybe it was he who found them.  They took the little boy in as their own and raised him on a farm.  She interrupted a few times to comment on something, such as admiring the couple and thinking that it seemed like something she would have done and even saying that the husband sounded liken to Jonathan who hasn't arrived yet for some reason.  Kal responded each time with a strange amount of reverence and longing that Martha became very curious.  

The boy, as strange as he was being incredibly strong and fast, grew up to be a mild mannered young man who was very hardworking and very devoted to his family and friends.  Martha laughed a few times as Kal read through some of the mishaps that this boy got himself into from managing to be late for school even with his incredible speed and constantly having trouble expressing his feelings to a childhood sweetheart, who she herself suffered much in her youth.  Poor child, losing her parents right in front of her and later losing a boyfriend even if he did die a hero.  

Martha rolled her eyes a few times as she listened to how this boy never noticed some of the things that were right in front of him even after he developed the ability to see through solid objects.  This best friend of his, a spirited and curious young journalist who, despite many milestones, stayed devoted to him.  Martha and Kal shared a laugh at the boy's foolishness in not seeing that she was clearly in love with him.  They even went on a date once, but he left to go save someone's life before their relationship could become something more.  Well, she was a very insecure child and Martha shook her head at how she constantly backed down whenever the boy confronted her about perhaps deepening their relationship.  She also liked hearing how protective she was of the boy.  

One summer, the boy, after making a huge mistake that hurt his family, left town and made a lot of bad choices.  He was under the influence of a harmful substance that stripped away his inhibitions and he felt that it helped mask him from the mistakes he'd made.  His parents, even though they were upset with him, worried about him and they didn't know where to find him.  His best friend was the one who found him and even though he visciously turned her away, she didn't back down.  She brought in the boy's father and, though it severely affected his health, he helped the boy get back on track and come home.  

"Even a boy as strong as he is needs saving, doesn't he," Martha said with a smile.

"Yes," agreed Kal.  "He didn't know what he'd do without her or his father."

"And this billionaire?"  asked Martha conversationally.  "It's a shame that he let his ambitions and constant desire to prove himself to this awful father of his and the world to ruin his life.  If you ask me, it seems that even if he was great friends with this boy, maybe they were never really true friends."

"Yeah, well the boy was very afraid of what people would think of him, do to him, if people knew his secret," said Kal.  "And the billionaire had trouble letting things go instead accepting that the boy saved his life and leave it at that."  

"So far the boy sounds like somebody I would have been proud to call my son," mused Martha.

Kal smiled, but she saw that slight trace of sadness there again.  "Yeah, his mother and father were both very proud of him and he couldn't have asked for a better man and woman to call his parents."

Why did Martha get the feeling he wasn't talking about the boy from the story anymore?

"Anyway, I'll continue," said Kal returning to the story.

Into his senior year, the boy's best friend discovered his secret and, much to Martha's admiration, instead of exposing him like she had so many other "meteor freaks" she became more protective of him and perhaps even loved him more. Martha grew excited to find out when she actually found out that the love of her life wasn't even human.  How she would react.   She also fought back a few laughs at the boy's bickering with his best friend's cousin who he shared a house with.  It seemed to her that, though they didn't admit it to themselves, they were developing a brother-and-sisterly bond even if half the time they wanted to throw the other in the wood chipper.  

After the boy's graduation, the town was hit by a second, and even more destructive, meteor shower and around the same time he discovered that his best friend knew his secret.   _At last_ , Martha thought.  Now they could have a deeper relationship without that massive wall between them.  The boy finally started a relationship with his his best friend.  Finally!  They became inseparable and Marth couldn't help but be reminded of her relationship with Jonathan.  She met Jonathan in college, she remembered and they became inseparable. She was glad that the boy had seemingly found the right woman for himself. Tragically, that same year, right when the boy had proposed to his best friend-turned-girlfriend, the boy's father passed away right after winning State Senate against the increasingly megalomaniacal young billionaire.  

The boy became a wreck, but he somehow overcame his tragedy.

"Oh, look at the time," said Kal.  He had been reading to her for quite some time and it was a large book.  "I think we will stop there for today."

"I'm liking this story," said Martha as Kal got up.  "This boy sure has a complicated life, but he seems stronger than he realizes.  I hope he realizes his full potential."

"Well, how about I come back tomorrow and we can finish this book?" offered Kal.

"I look forward to it, but I can't guarantee I'll be here," warned Martha.  At Kal's panicked look, she quickly added, "My husband, Jonathan is picking me up for dinner."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Kal, chuckling.  "Well, you tell me how it went."

"I'll do that," promised Martha. 

Suddenly the door flew open again and in came a couple of young girls.

"Marty, Lara, I told you two wait outside," Kal admonished sternly.

"I know," said the older one.  She looked about fifteen.  Her hair was golden blonde and her blue eyes matched her father's, but her nose and prominent chin were her own.  Or maybe they were her mother's.  

"But we just wanted to see Gra--" began the younger one who looked about ten, but her father raised a warning finger.  She immediately fell quiet.  Her hair was as black as his and looked just like him.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Kent, these are my daughters, Marty and Lara."  He indicated the elder one first and then the younger one.  Martha sat there admiring them for a minute.

"Girls, your father and I specifically told you to--" came another voice.  Martha looked to the doorway again.  A petite woman with blonde ruffled hair that just barely reached her shoulders and striking green eyes, Martha could see where Marty got her looks.  

"This is my wife, Chloe," introduced Kal.  

"Chloe..." repeated Martha.  "The same Chloe who wrote the book that your husband has been reading to me."

"Yes, ma'am," answered Chloe proudly.  "It's about to celebrate its ninety-second week on the _Daily Planet_ Bestsellers List as well as the _New York Times._ "

"Congratulations," said Martha.  She scanned the family before her thoughtfully before resting her eyes on Kal.  "What a beautiful family you have, Kal."

Kal gave her a watery smile.  "Thank you, Mrs. Kent."  He looked at his family proudly.  "I don't know what I'd do without them."

"Aww, is this where we're supposed to cue the Barry Manilow music?" teased his wife Chloe.

Kal laughed.  "Okay, we really must be leaving so that Mrs. Kent can get some rest."  As his family began filing out of the room, Kal stopped to look at Martha.  "I think you and my mother would have gotten along; she taught me to not be afraid of following my heart."  With that cryptic message, Kal left the room.  

Martha returned to the window.  Did she know this Kal?  There was something oddly familiar about those blue eyes.  Probably just her imagination.  She waited for Jonathan.

 

***

"What a beautiful family you have," the same words Martha has been saying to them over and over again even before she started to lose her memory.

They were barely ten steps away from Martha Kent's room before Chloe watched the love of her life break down into tears.  It was two years ago, when she was still putting the finishing touches to the biography of who only a select few knew to be her husband, that Martha Kent suffered a stroke that nearly claimed her life.  Clark was desparate.  He pleaded with Jor-El to spare his mother since she was still only in her sixties.  Jor-El granted his request, but as always, there was a price.  In the following weeks of Martha Kent's "miraculous recovery," she started experiencing the first signs of senile dementia and less than a year later, she forgot everything about the boy she raised.  When Chloe's book was published, it quickly became a bestseller and won her third Pulitzer Prize.  Though, since Martha was not there to celebrate, it was not the happiest Pulitzer celebration she could have hoped for, even if Clark did fly her to France for a wonderful dinner.  

Marty and Lara spent that weekend in Star City with their Aunt Lois and Uncle Oliver.  Marty complained because she was thirteen at the time and she didn't think she needed a babysitter.  Well, in fairness, she seemed to take after her Grandma Martha in terms of cooking.  Still, she enjoyed spending time with Lois and Oliver.  

"Why do we keep doing this, Mom?" asked Marty, crying herself.  Martha was thrilled when her first grandchild to survive infancy, let alone pregnancy, came into this world and even more so when they revealed her name to be Martha.

Chloe sighed heavily.  "Because she's your grandmother and we need to be there for her as long as we can."  And thankfully this visit went better than their last one.  When Martha recognized the wedding ring on Chloe's finger, she pounced on her.  Martha thought she had stolen it rather than the fact that she had given it to her.  This week, for safe measure, Chloe took off her wedding band and put on her necklace.

"But she doesn't remember us," complained Lara, who was bawling.  Chloe did her best to fight back her own tears as she brought her children to a stop and kneeled down to look them straight in the eye.

"I know how hard this is, girls," she said evenly.  "I wish your grandmother remembered me too.  I wish she remembered my wedding.  I wish she remembered holding both of you in her arms when you were babies.  I wish she remembered your father.  But she doesn't," she finished quietly.  She gave her two favorite girls in the world a tearful smile.  "That's why I need you both to be strong."  She grasped their hands reassuringly.  

"Can you both be strong for Mommy and Daddy?" Chloe knew she was pleading, but she knew she needed to heed her own advice as well.  They inherited all their father's Kryptonian abilities...and weaknesses, though, since they are half-human, Kryptonite does not affect them as severely, but, like any intelligent beings, they were not immune to heartache.

Marty and Lara nodded.  Not long after that, they buried their mother in a tight hug.  Both of them could crush her under their immense strength, but Chloe knew they wouldn't.  As their tears molded together, Chloe felt strong arms wrap around the three of them.  

"Daddy?" asked Marty.

"I'm here," Clark whispered to his girls.  As they four of them grasped each other, not caring that they were in the middle of a retirement home hallway, Chloe found warmth in clutches of her family.  She and Clark had lost so much in their lifetimes first with Jonathan, then her first miscarriage, then her mother Moira, their second child who was one of the casualties of Doomsday, and then Chloe lost her husband Clark.  She only got one of them back.  

Eventually, Clark broke away from everyone and stood up.  Chloe and their daughters stood up with them.  Clark regarded each of them in turn.  A sad smile spread across his features.  

"What did I do to have such a beautiful family?" there was another day when Chloe or one of their daughters would return that question teasingly, but today the family simply shared a smile.  "Come on, let's go home."  He offered his arm and Chloe wrapped her hand around his elbow.  Chloe watched proudly as their daughters wrapped an arm around each other's waists and teased each other.  Little Lara looked silly in her father's fedora as it went all the way down to her nose, but they let her have her fun. All the Sullivan-Kent girls borrowed Clark's fedora.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look in that photo at the back of your book?" asked Clark.  Chloe thought about that picture of herself.  Her hair was pulled back slightly with a hair clamp and she wore an emerald blazer over her white blouse and emerald slacks.  

"Yes, but frequent reminders are always appreciated," she replied with her best teasing grin that she knew Clark loved so much.  He simply smiled and kissed her.  Chloe rested her head against her husband's shoulder as they left the retirement home.  Leaving the woman who was little more than a vessel of what used to be her mother-in-law.  


End file.
